NECESSITY AND FEASIBILITY OF EUREKA VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT REACHING COMPLIANCE WITH NFPA STANDARD 1720 EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT

Transcription

1 NECESSITY AND FEASIBILITY OF EUREKA VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT REACHING COMPLIANCE WITH NFPA STANDARD 1720 EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT BY: Douglas J. Williams Eureka Fire Department Eureka, Kansas An applied research project submitted to the National Fire Academy as part of the Executive Fire Officer Program December 2001

2 2 ABSTRACT On May 16 th, 2001 the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) passed NFPA 1710 Standard for the Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments and NFPA 1720 Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Volunteer Fire Departments. The Eureka Volunteer Fire Department attempts to meet all NFPA codes and standards and therefore, with the passage of these new standards, the fire department was burdened with a new standard in which to comply to. The purpose of this research project was to evaluate whether or not it was necessary for Eureka Volunteer Fire Department to comply with the new NFPA standard. The second part of the research was to see if the fire department complied with NFPA 1720 and if not, upon uncovering the areas of the standard that it failed to meet, was it feasible and within the capability of the department to strive for compliance. Evaluative and descriptive research methodologies were used to answer and then analyze data from the following questions. First, was if it was necessary for Eureka Volunteer Fire Department to meet NFPA 1720, secondly, did the department already meet the standard and thirdly, if the department did not meet the standard, was it capable of or feasible for the department to reach compliance? The procedures employed were a literature search regarding the passage and details of the NFPA standard and to investigate the need and necessity of seeking compliance, as well as consultation with department officers.

3 3 In order to reach compliance with the new standard, the fire department had to evaluate whether or not it currently met the standard and if not, was it capable of and / or feasible for the organization to attain the requirements of the standard. A questionnaire was generated and two meetings of the officers of the department were held; the first, to complete the questionnaire and determine if the standard was already met, and the second, to form a consensus on what was needed for the department to reach the minimum requirements of the standard and the feasibility of such. Based on information obtained from the literature review and the officer assemblage it was determined that it was necessary and beneficial for the department to strive for compliance with NFPA The research revealed that the fire department did not meet all minimum requirements of the standard, however, it was feasible and within the capability of the department to attain compliance in most of the categories. It was recommended that the department take the areas of non-compliance and develop an outline of steps to bring those areas to minimum requirements in a specified period of time and continue to strive for compliance to all NFPA standards.

4 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT...2 TABLE OF CONTENTS.4 INTRODUCTION 5 BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE...6 LITERATURE REVIEW 7 PROCEDURES...10 RESULTS 12 DISCUSSION..16 RECOMMENDATIONS 18 REFERENCE LIST 20 APPENDIX (Questionnaire)..22

5 5 INTRODUCTION On May 16 th, 2001 the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) passed NFPA 1710 Standard for the Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments and NFPA 1720 Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Volunteer Fire Departments. These standards provide a comprehensive template for fire departments to measure their performance and effectiveness. The Eureka Volunteer Fire Department has always striven to provide the highest level of fire protection and service possible and in doing so has attempted to meet all NFPA codes and standards. Therefore, with the passage of these new standards, the Eureka Volunteer Fire Department was left with a new guideline in which to comply. In order to reach compliance, the fire department had to evaluate whether or not it currently met the standard and if not, was it capable of and / or feasible for the organization to attain the requirements of such. The primary purpose of this research project was to evaluate whether or not it was necessary and beneficial for Eureka Volunteer Fire Department to comply with the new NFPA standard. The second part of the research was to see if the fire department complied with NFPA 1720 and if not, upon uncovering the areas of the standard that it failed to meet, was it feasible and within the capability of the department to strive for compliance. Evaluative and descriptive research methodologies were used to obtain and analyze the answers the to following questions. The first question that had to be answered was if it was necessary and beneficial for Eureka Volunteer Fire Department to meet NFPA Second,

6 6 does the department meet the standard? Third, if the department did not meet the standard, was it capable or feasible for the department to reach compliance? BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE The Eureka Volunteer Fire Department is made up of a roster of twenty-five fire personnel and a reserve force of up to five individuals. The department consists of a part-time fire chief, a volunteer assistant chief, four volunteer captains, nineteen volunteer firefighters and the reserves. The personnel staff three engine companies and one rescue company. The department provides fire protection, basic rescue, and operational hazardous materials coverage for the City of Eureka. The City of Eureka has a population of three thousand and fourteen over an area of three square miles. The department provides fire prevention classes to the schools, to the care homes for the elderly and to other groups upon request, such as the Boy Scout troops and senior citizens. The City of Eureka has adopted the 1997 edition of the Uniform Fire Code and the fire chief is responsible for code inspection and enforcement. The fire chief is also responsible for the investigation and determination of the cause of all fires. The department has an automatic aid agreement with Greenwood County Emergency Medical Service to provide rescue services throughout Greenwood County, which covers eleven hundred and fifty-five square miles. Also, mutual aid agreements exist with Greenwood County Fire District #1 and with some of the towns and small community fire departments within the county. While the rapport and working relationship with several of these departments has been good, not all have shown the same philosophy or interest towards meeting nationally accepted levels of service and training.

7 7 On May 16 th, 2001 at its annual convention in Anahiem, California, the NFPA passed the proposed 1710 and 1720 standards. Traditionally, the Eureka Volunteer Fire Department has attempted to comply with all current NFPA standards and with the passage of this new standard, the department needed to evaluate if it met the new standard and if not, did it have the capability to reach compliance. The ability of the department to become compliant also relied on some other departments to participate in the process. The Eureka Volunteer Fire Department uses the Greenwood County Communications center for dispatching and this service is under the control of the Greenwood County Sheriff. In order for Eureka Volunteer Fire Department to reach compliance with the NFPA 1720 standard, the communications center would have to meet the standard for communications as well. Further, the organizations that have automatic and mutual aid agreements with the Eureka Volunteer Fire Department would have to meet the training and communications standard, and additionally, the aid agreements themselves would have to meet the criteria of the standard. The research, evaluation of results and problem solving involved in this document were relevant to several areas of the Executive Development course for the Executive Fire Officer Program. Those units were Research, Problem Solving and Organizational Culture. LITERATURE REVIEW The purpose of this literature review was to examine published documents on the subject of the recent passage of NFPA 1710 and Several different fire service literature sources were reviewed to determine the necessity, practicality, and benefits of complying with the newly adopted standards.

8 8 There were numerous sources available to report on the passage of the NFPA 1710 and 1720 standards (Buno, 2001b; Wilmoth, 2001; Pegram, 2001; Firechief, 2001). All of these sources refer to the acceptance of the standards and gave details of the debates of the organizations that were either opposed or promoted the passage of the guidelines. NFPA members overwhelmingly approved 1710 and its much less controversial volunteer-oriented counter part, NFPA 1720, May 16 in Anaheim, California; supporters note that NFPA standards are voluntary, that standards may be implemented without being formally adopted and that the oppositions price tag for compliance is tremendously over-inflated (Fire Chief, 2001). Several sources were found to cite the necessity of following NFPA Professions must have standards; to deny standards is to deny the existence of a profession. Standards tell us what to expect (Brown, 2001). We have provided a plan for the future of our profession and the fire service that will save the lives of civilians and our brothers and sisters now and for generations to come (IAFF, 2001). Some chiefs are looking forward to its adoption, relieved at the prospect of a national consensus standard that will help shoulder their budget-time burden of proof and establish a lawsuit-proof fire service management path. Others are concerned that NFPA 1710 will result in the creation of new legal risks for departments and communities that won t meet it in May, or anytime in the foreseeable future (Rukavina, 2001). More often than not, fire departments have been held accountable to the NFPA documents in court and in individual state Departments of Labor (NVFC, 2001). A fundamental reason that is shared by both the IAFC and the IAFF, is a sincere belief that, after over three hundred years, it s time the fire service in North America have clear benchmarks. We need objective, standardized benchmarks to evaluate and measure the service we provide to citizens, who trust their very lives and worldly possessions to us (Brown, 2001). Determined people, working together, can

9 9 accomplish a lot for good or ill, depending on your point of view. But what s done is done; the time for complaining is past. Now it s time for us to channel our determination and hard work toward a better fire service for ourselves and our communities (Wilmoth, 2001). The benefits to the department of implementing the NFPA 1710 and 1720 standards were noted. Harold Schaitberger, general president of the IAFF, calls it a standard that allows our members to do their job more effectively and provides a greater level of safety (Bruno, 2001a). The standard is an effort to reverse the trend of the last two decades by giving fire chiefs and local unions a weapon they can use in fighting their budget battles (Bruno, 2001c). In assessing the compliance and practicality a questionnaire (Appendix) was generated utilizing several sources (NFPA 1720; NFPA 1221; NFPA 1500; NFPA 1561). The need to evaluate one s department was made apparent after review of the literature regarding the standards. To address this need, the officers of the department were chosen to review the questionnaire and then meetings were held for consultation. The officers of the department were selected as they were considered the local experts in the subject and also for their familiarization of the local procedures and methods. The importance of evaluating department procedures was highlighted by the following excerpt: Some recent firefighter fatality reports issued by NIOSH and the NFPA have indicated that an inadequate staffing on scene at a structure fire can and has contributed to some firefighter deaths. And in spirit of the recent approval of NFPA standards 1710 and 1720, the staffing debates continue. Despite these deaths, many fire departments don t provide adequate personnel on scene. Fire chiefs and fire department administrators have an obligation to review their department s deployment abilities and establish programs that ensure adequate staffing (Pegram, 2001).

10 10 In summary, the literature review provided information on the need to incorporate NFPA standards into the fire departments standard operating procedures. This was shown to be necessary to provide both better service for the lives and property that we are entrusted to protect and, importantly, the safety and welfare of the firefighters themselves. In order to do this, the department must study the NFPA standards, evaluate the department for compliance and form steps to correct shortfalls. PROCEDURES The first step in the project was to obtain a copy of NFPA 1720 and evaluate if there was a need to meet the standard. Numerous professional periodicals were read and evaluated to get various viewpoints and professional opinions on the need to meet the standard. The professional periodicals that were used to obtain this information were: International Association of Fire Chief s, On Scene; the International Association of Firefighter s, International Firefighter; the National Volunteer Fire Council s, Newsletter; Fire Chief magazine, Firehouse magazine and FireRescue magazine. Various articles in these sources were reviewed to obtain an informative stance on this issue. The next step in the research was to break down the individual parts of the NFPA 1720 standard and evaluate whether or not the fire department met the criteria set forth in the individual paragraphs. In doing this I created a questionnaire (see Appendix) that addressed each part of the standard that would pertain to the Eureka Volunteer Fire Department. The parts of the standard that were not included in the questionnaire were the categories about providing emergency medical service, quality management of emergency medical service, and special

11 11 operations response. These categories were not reviewed since the fire department does not provide emergency medical service and does not provide hazardous materials response above the first responder operations level as addressed by NFPA 472 Standard for Professional Competence of Responders to Hazardous Materials Incidents. The five officers of the fire department were then given the questionnaire and we conducted a group evaluation on October 15 th for two hours during which each part of the questionnaire was covered. While the findings showed that many of the standards had been met, the officers were asked for a brief statement for each area that they believed the fire department failed to meet. Once the areas of non-compliance were located, a second meeting was held on October 25 th for two hours with the officers. Input from each individual was given regarding what was necessary for the department to reach compliance and if it was possible within the resources that are available to the department. The officers rated the individual areas of non-compliance on the level of difficulty in achieving compliance. The three levels of difficulty were: easily obtainable, possibly obtainable, and not likely obtainable. The results of this project were arrived at by utilizing both descriptive and evaluative methodology. The research was descriptive in that group meetings were conducted with fire department officers to obtain their ideas and opinions regarding the current status of the department and compliance with NFPA Nationwide opinions and attitudes were obtained from current literature on the impact of the standard and the necessity of compliance. The research was also evaluative in that we used a questionnaire and analyzed the data from the descriptive research to facilitate decisionmaking.

12 12 Limitations and Assumptions Due to NFPA 1710 and 1720 only being in the limelight for less than a year, the research was limited to fire service periodicals and professional trade magazines. At the time there was not any in-depth research that could be found on this subject outside of these sources. One assumption that was made during this research was that the standards of NFPA 1710 and 1720 were to be equally treated with the same value and importance. Most of the periodicals and the IAFF make most, if not all, of their focus towards NFPA 1710 since it is for career departments and most of their attention and readers are from that environment. In doing this research it was assumed that NFPA 1720 was as equally important a consideration for the volunteer departments to meet as was NFPA 1710 for the career departments. RESULTS The results to research question number one on whether it was necessary and beneficial for Eureka Volunteer Fire Department to comply with NFPA 1720 were overwhelmingly in favor of making all efforts to do so. The International Association of Firefighters (IAFF,2001) states, NFPA 1710 is a lengthy document that, for the first time provides a comprehensive blueprint for fire departments to follow. It establishes a yardstick in black and white to measure the performance and effectiveness of a fire department. The International Association of Fire Chiefs President Mike Brown speaks in favor of NFPA 1710/1720 standards (Brown, 2001), We need objective standardized benchmarks to evaluate and measure the service we provide to citizens, who trust their very lives and worldly possessions to us. The National Volunteer Fire Council in its protest of the standards (NVFC, 2001) proclaims, More often than not, fire

13 13 departments have been held accountable to the NFPA documents in court and individual state Departments of Labor. Firehouse contributing editor Hal Bruno (Bruno, 2001b) states, Phoenix Fire Chief Alan Brunacini, chairman of the 1710 committee, calls it a major breakthrough that gives us a standard that covers the deployment, staffing and response times of fire companies. He points out that in the past, outside organizations such as insurance companies set the standards for fire department operations, but this is the first time that experienced fire service leaders are establishing the level of fire and EMS protection their departments should deliver. In answering research question two, it was clear from the group review of NFPA 1720 that Eureka Volunteer Fire Department failed in some areas to meet the standard. Questions one through twenty-two of the questionnaire(appendix) covered the topics of fire service organization, operations, and deployment. Upon review of those questions, the group determined the fire department met all of the minimum requirements of that area of the standard. While the group pointed out there were numerous areas that could use improvement, there was an overall consensus that the basic requirements were met. In the category of inter-community organization, questions twenty-three through twenty-five of the questionnaire, the results of the group survey were that the mutual aid agreements were dated and did not contain a considerable amount of the information required by NFPA It was also agreed upon that the amount training between the departments was not enough to provide an effective fire force and to ensure uniform operations as the standard set forth. Question twenty-six concerned the fire department safety and health system. The outcome of the discussion revealed that although the department has safety guidelines it does not meet all of the requirements of NFPA 1500 Standard on Fire Department Safety and Health Program as is required by NFPA Upon discussion of questions twenty-seven through twenty-nine, it was determined the department met all of the

14 14 minimum requirements of the standard concerning having an incident management system, as well as a training system to ensure that the personnel are trained to a documented level and their competency maintained. The most significant area of deficiency found concerned the communications system which was addressed in questions thirty through thirty-three. According to NFPA 1720, the fire department communications system should comply with NFPA 1221 Standard for the Installation, Maintenance, and Use of Emergency Services Communications Systems. Upon review of NFPA 1221, the group found numerous areas in the communications system and facility that the department utilizes, but which is under the control of the Greenwood County Sheriff s Department, to be lacking. The final area addressed on the questionnaire concerned pre-fire planning and it was agreed during group survey that the department met the minimum standard. The final group consensus was that the fire department met the criteria of all but four areas of NFPA The second meeting of the fire department officers was held to review the areas of NFPA 1720 that the fire department was found to be deficient in. The officers were then asked in a round table discussion to evaluate whether or not the department had the capability to meet these areas within the local political structure and budgetary constraints. The first area of noncompliance was on the subject of inter-community agreements. Upon round table discussion it was felt that the department could re-write the mutual and automatic aid agreements to include the necessary information to comply with the standard. The second area of concern regarded the section about procedures and training of personnel for all fire departments in mutual and automatic aid agreements. According to the standard, these elements must be comprehensive to produce an effective fire force and to ensure uniform operations. The discussion concluded that

15 15 aspects of this were beyond the control of our department and, therefore, there was a possibility that this might not be attainable. The reason for this conclusion was that the department has agreements with several departments and, at the time of the research, some of those departments showed little or no interest in cross training, they met few areas of compliance with NFPA standards, nor did they seem receptive to the idea. The third part of the standard where deficiencies were noted was on having a safety and health system in accordance with NFPA The group, upon review of this standard, believed that this standard was within reach, but the department budget would have to be adjusted to allow for some new equipment and for the annual medical examinations that are required. The fourth shortcoming that was found regarded having a communications system in compliance with NFPA It was overwhelmingly believed that this part of the standard was unattainable. The communications system that the fire department uses is ran by the sheriff s department. The communications center was extensively remodeled two years ago and it does not meet numerous areas of NFPA With the amount of money recently spent on the communications center, the group felt that the county would not be in favor of investing any more funds on the center at the current time. The conclusion of the review of research question three by the officers of the department was that of the four areas of non-compliance the department had the capability of correcting two of the areas. It determined that the department could continue to work with the mutual aid departments to try and reach the uniform training requirement, but this would be a long-term goal at best and it was believed that the standard on the communications center would not be possible.

16 16 DISCUSSION The results of this research were supported by the findings discussed in the literature. Several viewpoints by individuals from various backgrounds were discussed in the literature search. The consensus from most of the fire service sources was that it was necessary for the fire department to have an operational standard (Bruno, 2001b; Brown, 2001; IAFF, 2001; Ruckavina, 2001). The literature search also found that it is important to follow NFPA 1720 to provide an efficient, effective fire service and to also establish a lawsuit proof fire service management path (Ruckavina, 2001; Bruno, 2001b). Finally the most important reason of abiding by the standard was to provide for a safer work environment for the fire service (IAFF, 2001; Brown, 2001; Bruno, 2001b). The only dissenting opinion on the adoption of NFPA 1720 that was found in the literature search was not as much against the 1720 standard as it was against the NFPA committee forming two standards to separate the performance requirements between career and volunteer departments (NVFC, 2001; Bruno 2001c). The resulting conclusion that it is important to have a fire department standard and to follow NFPA 1720 was supported in the literature search. In the group review of the questionnaire, the group found several areas of the standard in which the fire department failed to meet compliance. The group reviewed all of the questions and a discussion was made over the areas where possible shortcomings were found. If there was disagreement amongst the group of officers, the majority opinion was used.

17 17 The second meeting of the officers was conducted to decide whether or not the fire department had the capability to correct the shortcomings and come into compliance with the 1720 standard. The decision from the meeting was that the department could correct all of the areas of non-compliance that were within its direct control. They believed that there was sufficient budget and desire to meet the needs in those areas. The biggest problem that was brought to light during the round table discussion was that certain areas of the standard are not within the control or the influence of the department s management. It was felt that the training of the mutual aid departments can be influenced but is not entirely in the control of this department. Our fire department can offer classes and provide cross training, but if some of the other departments choose not to participate, it is beyond our control. When it came to the discussion about the communications department, the group was quick to point out that a significant amount of money was spent remodeling the dispatch center two years ago and it was not done to meet compliance with any standard. The officers believed that there would not be any political support to allocate further funds to be spent on the communications center or system. The communications center is under the direction of the local sheriff and the fire officials have very little influence on the major decision making in that department. In summary the group believed that the fire department could meet all of the requirements of the standard that are under its direct control. Therefore, we would be meeting the intent of the standard to the best of our ability, although, complete compliance is hindered by shortcomings of the communications center and the training of some of the mutual aid departments.

18 18 RECOMMENDATIONS Eureka Volunteer Fire Department should strive to meet NFPA An overwhelming majority of the fire service professionals agree the NFPA standards are in place to provide a minimum standard that all departments should follow. These standards are in place not only to provide for an adequate level of service, but to also provide for higher safety standards. Most fire service professionals feel that in a court of law the NFPA standards that are, proposed and passed by our fire service peers, will be used as a reasonable standard of operation. The department should formulate a committee to study the areas of NFPA 1720 where the shortcomings were found. The committee should specifically look at the areas where it was determined the department had the ability to correct the deficiencies. Each of these areas should be studied in depth and this committee should formulate a set of steps that should be taken for the department to reach a level of compliance within a set time frame. Once the committee has generated a plan for attaining compliance in the areas the department has the ability to correct, then they should start reviewing the parts that the research concluded were outside of the department s control and see if they could make any recommendations for improvements in these areas. As previously mentioned, these were the sections about mutual aid training shortcomings and the communications center not complying with NFPA Eureka Volunteer Fire Department does comply with most of the current NFPA standards. The department should continue their attempt to comply with the standards and in the future should review any new standard that is adopted in a group setting and evaluate the standard and the department for compliance. Also, the officer s group recommended that in the

19 19 future the department should re-evaluate itself biannually in relation to all of the NFPA standards. Our research has shown that all fire department should attempt to adhere to NFPA standards. In order to do that, they must keep abreast of any new standards and should assess them for departmental significance and necessity. The importance of scheduled reviews and reassessments of each department s operating procedures and their compliance with current guidelines was brought to light during our project. The review of 1720 brought forth some shortfalls in other standards, such as NFPA 1500, that were not previously recognized by our administration. Providing for a system of scheduled reviews would assist departments in recognizing their own deficiencies and in maintaining compliance with important standards.

20 20 REFERENCES Brown, M. (2001, December 18). Testimony of Chief Mike Brown. Online Resource from the International Association of Fire Chiefs. [On-line]. Available: Bruno, H. (2001a, January). Labor and management cooperate on NFPA 1710 staffing standard. Firehouse, 14 Bruno, H. (2001b, June). NFPA approves 1710 standard for staffing career units. Firehouse, 16. Bruno, H. (2001c, July). NFPA 1710: the fight s not over. Firehouse, 20. Elliott, T. (2001). NFPA 1710: Facts, fallacies and fallout. Fire Chief 45(8): Fire Chief (2001). NFPA 1710, 1720 proposals pass by large margin. Fire Chief 45(6): 8 IAFF (2001, May/June). Victory is ours on NFPA Online Across the IAFF [On-line serial]. National Fire Protection Association, (1999). Standard 472, Standard for Professional Competence of Responders to Hazardous materials Incidents. Washington, DC. National Fire Protection Association, (1994). Standard 1221, Installation, Maintenance, and Use of Public Fire Service Communication Systems. Washington, DC. National Fire Protection Association, (1992). Standard 1500, Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health. Washington, DC. National Fire Protection Association, (1995). Standard 1561, Fire Department Incident Management System. Washington, DC.

21 21 National Fire Protection Association, (2001). Standard 1710, Standard for the Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments. Washington, DC National Fire Protection Association, (2001). Standard 1720, Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Volunteer Fire Departments. Washington, DC NVFC (2001, June). NFPA 1710, 1720 pass. National Volunteer Fire Council Newsletter. [On-line serial]. Available: Pegram, S. (2001). Number crunch, how many firefighters does it take to knock out a structure fire?. FireRescue 19(7): 27 Rukavina, J. (2001) legal questions answered. Fire Chief 45(2): Wilmoth, J. (2001). The power of determination. Fire Chief 45(6): 6

22 22 APPENDIX QUESTIONAIRE FOR OFFICERS OF EUREKA VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT TO RATE THE DEPARTMENT S COMPLIANCE WITH NFPA 1720 Does Eureka Volunteer Fire Department meet the following guidelines? If not, list the guideline number and a brief statement of the reason it does not. Fire Suppression Organization, Operation, and Deployment 1. Fire suppression operations shall be organized to ensure the fire department s fire suppression capability includes sufficient personnel, equipment and other resources to efficiently, effectively, and safely deploy fire suppression resources. 2. The authority having jurisdiction shall promulgate the fire department s organizational, operational, and deployment procedures by issuing written administrative regulations, standard operating procedures, and departmental orders. 3. The fire department shall participate in a process that develops a community risk management plan with respect to the risks associated with the storage, use transportation of hazardous materials. The specific role of the fire department and other responding agencies shall be defined by the community risk management plan for hazardous materials and other special operations. 4. Fire department procedures shall clearly state the succession of command responsibility 5. Personnel responding to fires and other emergencies shall be organized into company units or response teams and shall have appropriate apparatus and equipment. 6. The fire department shall identify minimum staffing requirements to ensure that a

23 23 sufficient number of members are available to operate safely and effectively. 7. The fire department shall maintain a standard report containing specified information for each response. These reports shall include the location and nature of the fire or emergency and describe the operations performed. This report shall identify the members responding to the incident. 8. Standard response assignments and procedures, including mutual aid response and mutual aid agreements predetermined by the location, and nature of the reported incident shall regulate the dispatch of companies, response groups, and command officers to fires and other emergency incidents. 9. The number and type of units assigned to respond to a reported incident shall be determined by risk analysis and pre-fire planning based on specific location or incident. 10. One individual shall be assigned as the incident commander. 11. The assumption and identification of command shall be communicated to all units responding to or involved at the incident scene. 12. The incident commander shall be responsible for the overall coordination and direction of all activities for the duration of the incident. 13. The incident commander shall ensure that a personnel accountability system is immediately utilized to rapidly account for all personnel at the incident scene. 14. The company officer / crew leader shall at all times be aware of the identity, location, and activity of each member assigned to the company. 15. Each member of the company shall be aware of the identity of the company officer / crew leader.

24 Orders addressed to individual members, particularly verbal orders and orders at incident scenes, shall be transmitted through the company officer. 17. Upon assembling the necessary resources, the fire department shall have the capability to safely initiate an initial attack within two minutes ninety percent of the time. 18. Initial attack operations shall be organized to ensure that at least four members shall be assembled before initiating interior fire suppression operations at a working structural fire. 19. In the hazardous area two individuals shall work as a team. 20. Outside the hazardous area two individuals shall be present for assistance or rescue of the team operating in the hazardous area. One of the two individuals assigned outside the hazardous area shall be permitted to be engaged in other activities. However, the assignment of any individuals shall not be permitted if abandoning their critical task to perform rescue clearly jeopardizes the safety and health of any fire fighter operating at the incident. 21. Initial attack operations shall be organized to ensure that if, upon arrival at the emergency scene, initial attack personnel find an imminent life-threatening situation where immediate action could prevent the loss of life or serious injury, such action shall be permitted with less than four personnel when conducted in accordance with NFPA The fire department shall have the capability for sustained operations, including fire suppression; engagement in search and rescue, forcible entry, ventilation, and preservation of property; accountability for personnel; a dedicated rapid intervention

25 25 crew; and provision of support activities for those situations that are beyond the capability of the initial attack. Intercommunity Organization 23. Mutual aid, automatic aid, and fire protection agreements shall be in writing and shall address such issues as liability for injuries and deaths, disability retirements, cost of service, authorization to respond, staffing and equipment, including the resources to be made available and the designation of the incident commander. 24. Procedures and training of personnel for all fire departments in mutual aid, automatic aid, and fire protection agreement plans shall be comprehensive to produce an effective fire force and to ensure uniform operations. 25. Companies responding to mutual aid incidents shall be equipped with communications equipment that allow personnel to communicate with incident commander and division officers, group officers, or sector officers. Safety and Health Systems 26. A fire-fighter occupational safety and health program shall be provided in accordance with NFPA 1500 to form the basic structure of protecting the health and safety of fire fighters, regardless of the scale of the department or the emergency. Incident Management System 27. An incident management system shall be provided in accordance with NFPA 1561, Standard on Emergency Services Incident Management Systems, to form the basic structure of all emergency operations of the fire department, regardless of the scale of the department or the emergency. 28. An effective incident management system shall be designed to manage incidents of

26 26 different types, including structure fires, wildland fires, hazardous materials incidents, emergency medical operations, and other types of emergencies that could be handled by the department. Training System 29. The fire department shall have a training program and policy that ensures that personnel are trained and competency is maintained to effectively, efficiently, and safely execute all responsibilities consistent with the department s organization and deployment as addressed in the earlier questions. Communications System 30. The fire department shall have a reliable communications system to facilitate prompt delivery of public fire suppression and special operations. 31. All communications facilities, equipment, staffing, and operating procedures shall comply with NFPA 1221, Standard for the Installation, Maintenance, and Use of Emergency Services Communications Systems. 32. Operating procedures for radio communications shall provide for the use of standard protocols and terminology at all types of incidents. 33. Standard terminology, in compliance with NFPA 1561, Standard on Emergency Services Incident Management System, established to transmit information, including strategic modes of operation, situation reports, and emergency notifications of imminent hazards. Pre-Incident Planning 34. The fire department shall set forth operational requirements to conduct pre-incident planning. Particular attentions shall be provided to all target hazards.